BWI Checkpoint Remains Closed Amid Shutdown Due To TSA 'Excessive Callouts'
BALTIMORE (WJZ) — A new record broke Sunday as the partial government shutdown entered Day 30, and the effects are continuing to expand to people in all aspects of their lives.
One major one- is travel.
BWI Checkpoint Closes Due To "Excessive Callouts"
TSA at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport closed A Pier checkpoint early Saturday due to excessive callouts. Fast-forward to Sunday afternoon- and the checkpoint is still closed.
"We're talking about a major international terminal and you've got security points shut down. That is crazy," said Tera Jackson, BWI visitor.
TSA workers are among the thousands of employees who still have to work, but with no pay, during the government shutdown.
"And the TSA workers are doing their best, I commend the ones that are coming in to work every day, and not getting a check. But the idea of I come to work, I do a job and not getting paid for it," Jackson said.
Jackson's sister, Tonya Jackson, is a federal employee with the Department of the Interior.
"I have not been unemployed since I was 15, so I've been sitting at home for a while and thinking about all the things that are piled up on my desk,"
Last week, Sen. Ben Cardin and Sen. Chris Van Hollen met with Maryland workers who are now feeling the sting of the shutdown.
Maryland Small Businesses Struggle Amid Government Shutdown
"Now that he's furloughed, the rent is not getting paid. I got a Pepco bill here for almost $200 that's overdue and it hasn't been paid," A furloughed worker said.
Even with no end in sight, lawmakers passed a bill that would give back-pay to workers once the government reopens.
"The consequences of the shutdown are having an increasingly harmful and damaging effect every day around our country," said Sen. Van Hollen.
The State Comptroller says 172,000 Marylanders have been impacted by the shutdown, with about $778 million in lost wages, and little over $2 million in tax revenue.
The State Office said Marylanders who are on a payment plan for back taxes may be granted a temporary break in their payments.
"We want to make sure that nobody is overpressured by the unfortunate situation in Washington with the government being shut down, so they are not receiving the paycheck that they normally expect and so we don't want to add to their burden," said Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot.
"I am here to break the logjam and provide Congress with a path forward to end the government shutdown," said President Trump in a speech Saturday afternoon.
President Trump offered a deal to reopen the government Saturday in exchange for temporary protection for some undocumented immigrants, but Democrats said they will only negotiate after the government is reopened.
"This is a shutdown that is the longest in history, it is the dumbest in history, and it may be the most damaging in history," said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer.
Back at BWI, Checkpoint A is still closed, and TSA is warning travelers to show up early.
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